Mel Brooks became known for making comedies or movies that spoofed other movies. I have seen and enjoyed several of his movies. I even enjoy ones that others don't care for. One of those is Spaceballs.
Planet Spaceball was quickly running out of air. President Skroob came up with a plan to take the air from planet Druidia. Their plan involves kidnaping Princess Vespa to force her father King Roland to turn over access to the air from Druidia. Vespa was supposed to be marrying Prince Valium, but she took off from the church with her droid, Dot Matrix. They were quickly found by Dark Helmet, but Vespa had time to call her father for help. King Roland contacted Lone Starr to rescue Vespa. Skroob and Dark Helmet continued to try to reach their goal of getting the air from Druidia while Lone Starr was trying to get Vespa back home.
Spaceballs is a spoof of science fiction movies dealing with space travel, mostly Star Wars. There were also a couple of things that were poking fun at Star Trek. There were also a few minor references to other movies, like using music that sounded similar to music from another movie or part of a song that was actually in a previous movie. I thought that the movie worked very well as a spoof. It is much better than the newer spoof movies from the last few years that seem to think just tossing references to recent popular movies into a new movie makes for something funny or entertaining. I am referring to Date Movie and Epic Movie, two horrible movies attempting to be spoofs. They failed because they dumped too many different movie references into them instead of just focusing on one or two movies for the main focus with only subtle references to other movies.
The plot for Spaceballs was rather simple, but there was enough going on to keep things interesting. There was a bit of a subplot connected to Vespa and how she was supposed to be marrying Prince Valium, the last prince left in the universe, even though she really didn't want to marry him. The fact that she didn't want to get married caused her to runaway from the church which set up other things that happened. That put her in a position where Dark Helmet could find her and grab her, which led to King Roland getting Lone Starr involved. Most of the rest of the movie was focused on him trying to get Vespa back home while avoiding Dark Helmet and the other Spaceballs. There really weren't any surprises in the movie, but it was still entertaining.
I thought that Spaceballs was funny. I have seen the movie many times over the years and I still find it funny and enjoy it when I watch it. Most of the humor came from poking fun at other movies, mostly Star Wars. I really thought that Dark Helmet was funny. He tried so hard to be intimidating, but most of the time he just looked goofy. The humor will more than likely be too silly for some viewers, even some who have enjoyed other Mel Brooks movies. The movie also poked fun at the merchandising connected to movies with all the Spaceballs merchandise shown throughout the movie, including the movie itself on video in one scene. The movie won't appeal to everyone and might be too cheesy for some.
There was a little bit of action in some scenes of Spaceballs as well as a little violence. There was a little bit of shooting down in space and in a few other settings. The guns the characters used were supposed to be futuristic laser type of guns like have been used in other science fiction movies. Some of the action scenes even added a bit of humor, like when Vespa got irked when her hair was singed and got her revenge after saying she wasn't going to use a gun. The violence that did turn up wasn't graphic and should bother anyone. The special effects were done well and made things look believable, even the flying Winnebago that served as Lone Starr's space ship. There was only a little bit of swearing that didn't get too extreme, which is reflected in the PG rating for the movie. There are things that parents probably won't want children to hear though.
Princess Vespa was supposed to be marrying Prince Valium, someone she didn't have any feelings for, when she was first introduced. She took off, leaving him at the altar, and soon after met Lone Starr. The two of them did not get along at first, but it did seem like there was a connection between them. That came out as the movie progressed and there were a few sexual undertones between them. There were no sex scenes or nudity, though there were a few sexual remarks and jokes, like the virgin alarm. The few sexual things that were in the movie weren't that strong, so viewers shouldn't be offended.
Most of the characters in Spaceballs were intended to be humorous versions of characters from Star Wars. Lone Starr seemed to be a combination of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. He was a loner who had some problems with other people in the galaxy. He didn't know who his parents were or where he was from. Bill Pullman was fine in the part, though he did seem to go a bit overboard at times. That did fit with what was going on for the most part. Barf was part man and part dog and Lone Starr's friend. He seemed to mostly be around to add humor. John Candy was good in the part.
Princess Vespa was very spoiled and had an attitude. She wasn't overly likable at first, but she became a bit nicer as the movie progressed. Daphne Zuniga handled the part fine. Vespa was accompanied by a droid, Dot Matrix. Joan Rivers provided the voice for the character. Her voice was a bit grating at times, but it wasn't too annoying. Vespa's father King Roland was only in a few scenes, so Dick Van Patten didn't have a lot to do. Jim J. Bullock had even less to do as Prince Valium since he was only in two scenes and was basically just standing there yawning.
President Skroob was in charge of the Spaceballs and it seemed obvious to me that he was intended to be a version of the Emperor, just without any special powers. He also didn't seem to be as smart as he thought he was. I did like Mel Brooks in the part. He also played Yogurt, the master of The Schwartz that helped Lone Starr. The Schwartz was this movie's version of the force and Yogurt was very much like Yoda.
Dark Helmet wasn't as intimidating as he tried to be most of the time. He usually kept the face plate for his huge helmet flipped up because he couldn't breath properly with it down. He also had a fondness for playing with his action figures. Rick Moranis was really good in the part. Colonel Sandurz was a high ranking Spaceball who reported directly to Dark Helmet. George Wyner handled the part well. Michael Winslow, who became known for his part in The Police Academy movies, had a small part as a radar technician.
Main Cast
Mel Brooks - President Skroob/Yogurt Jim J. Bullock - Prince Valium John Candy - Barf Rick Moranis - Dark Helmet Bill Pullman - Lone Starr Dick Van Patten - King Roland George Wyner - Colonel Sandurz Daphne Zuniga - Princess Vespa
Mel Brooks - Director
DVD Information
I picked up Spaceballs on DVD a few years ago for around $7.00. The DVD that I have has the widescreen and full screen versions of the movie. There is a commentary by Brooks that I haven't listened to yet and a little bit of behind the scenes footage that was interesting. The original theatrical trailer was also included. I know another DVD was released that had more extras. Since I don't have that version, I don't know exactly what other extras are on it.
I thought that Spaceballs was a well done spoof of science fiction movies and Star Wars in particular. It won't appeal to everyone though because it is rather silly and even cheesy at times. People who have liked Mel Brooks other movies may also like this one.
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